Lin Fei immediately stopped and circled in the air for a while before gently landing on the ground. He had defeated Ma Yuan in seven moves and he himself was unscathed. Ma Yuan had not even managed to graze Lin Fei.

“A new generation replacing the old. However, this newcomer rose up too fast. The previous generation fell even before he reached his full potential.”

“Indeed, he was, after all, ranked thirty-ninth in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition. In the end, he could not even touch the corner of Lin Fei’s clothes. This newcomer is too strong.”

The unexpected result caused the audience to sigh after being silent for a long time.

“Ha ha! This is still considered pretty good. Did you see the matches in group twenty? The Eastern Sea’s Little Dragon King, Xuanyuan Zhantian, defeated all his opponents in one move.”

“Several participants ranked in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition did not believe they were weaker than him. In the end, they were all defeated in one move. Regardless of who they are or where they come from, no one could stop Xuanyuan Zhantian.”

“There are too many new talents in this Five Nation Youth Competition. It is the same in group one. There is a young girl no older than sixteen from the Myriad Fiend Palace. However, she already won ten-odd matches before she lost to a disciple of the ten great sects.”

“It looks like this is truly the era of geniuses. The competition will only get more intense after the second round of elimination, when the seeded participants join in.”

Liu Suifeng quietly muttered to himself, “What a queer Saber Technique. How does one block it? There is a move that is openly shown and a move that is hidden. I have never heard of this kind of Martial Technique before. Could he have created it himself?”

Yun Kexin looked at Xiao Chen and asked, “Xiao Chen, what are your odds of victory against him?”

Xiao Chen thought for a while, then replied, “This person is very strong. If he is only as strong as what we just saw, I am fully confident of defeating him.”

Murong Chong exclaimed in surprise, “Could it be that you have a way of dealing with that queer Saber Technique?”

Without answering the question directly, Xiao Chen said, “It is difficult to keep winning with surprise moves. If he intends to continue using only this Saber Technique, it would be hard for him to enter the top fifty.”

As the group spoke, it soon became Xiao Chen’s turn again. This time, his opponent was a short-haired cultivator using a spear. He was about the same age as Xiao Chen, but he seemed dispirited.

Clearly, the short-haired cultivator was not very confident. He looked at Xiao Chen and said, “Xiao Chen, if you can receive one blow from me, I will admit defeat.”

Xiao Chen replied calmly, “I do not need you to admit defeat. If you want to execute your best move, then use your own efforts to create an opportunity yourself. Don’t ask this of your opponent. If I agree to you now, are you going to do this every time you meet an opponent stronger than you?”

Xiao Chen did not like this cowardly attitude before a fight. One had to use their own strength and resources to fight for a chance before they could force their opponent to settle victory or defeat in one move.

Relying on begging to get this chance meant that the short-haired cultivator’s mentality was poor.

The short-haired cultivator had not expected Xiao Chen to be so blunt. He clenched his teeth and said, “Watch my spear!”

The spear rotated slightly and the surrounding air gathered at the spear tip, becoming a strong wind. The short-haired cultivator’s right hand shook and the spear shot out like a venomous snake shooting out of a hole.

Right before it reached Xiao Chen, the spear tip trembled and several venomous snakes seemed to appear, making it hard to make out which was the real one.

Xiao Chen shook his head. The weakness was too obvious. If the opponent did not move suddenly and attack, that spear strike’s momentum, speed, and state would have been perfect. Unfortunately, this cultivator focused too much on technique, causing the state to scatter.

Against an opponent with a better eye for technique than this short-haired cultivator had, this spear strike was just a joke. Xiao Chen clenched his fist and punched.

There was a resonant sound and all the spear lights vanished. The short-haired cultivator took several steps back, gripping his spear.

Xiao Chen placed his right hand on his saber’s hilt and quickly chased after his opponent, arriving before him in an instant.

Before his opponent could react, Xiao Chen drew his saber and knocked away the spear. Then, he placed his saber against his opponent’s neck.

“You have lost,” Xiao Chen said calmly.

The short-haired cultivator clearly looked dissatisfied. He grumbled, “I still have not used my trump card. If you give me two seconds, I can definitely turn things around.”

“If you did not even have the opportunity to execute it, how can it be your trump card? Don’t obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way. The most important thing is to continue building your foundation. Otherwise, all trump cards would be useless.”

Xiao Chen sheathed his saber and stopped speaking. He had already said a lot. How much the short-haired cultivator could comprehend would depend on himself.

The short-haired cultivator seemed to be at a loss. He kept thinking about what Xiao Chen said.

---

Eventually, the twenty matches all came to an end. By sunset, the group Xiao Chen was in, group six, had finished all its matches. He had finished the elimination round with a perfect score.

After waiting for some time, Yun Kexin and Murong Chong also finished their battles. Yun Kexin was rather lucky; she succeeded in clearing this elimination round.

Murong Chong’s bad luck did not persist. Despite being in a “death group,” he managed to clear the first elimination round, albeit with much difficulty.

All three of them had passed. The First Elder, Jiang Chi, looked quite excited. Among the participants from the Great Qin Nation’s three great sects, only the Misty Sword Sect’s Chu Chaoyun had passed, aside from them. The Night Spirit Palace’s Mu Chengxue fell in the first round of elimination.

In regard to numbers, the Heavenly Saber Pavilion had suppressed the other two great sects. If they were to advertise this properly in the future, they would greatly increase the influence of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.

“Let’s go. We can go back first and rest for a day tomorrow, in preparation for the second round of elimination on the day after,” Jiang Chi said as he got up.

Xiao Chen looked at the dueling ring and said, “Wait for a while. Nangong Ziyue and the Sun Moon Sect’s disciple, Mo Ziyan, are about to start their match.”

Without the seeded participants appearing, it would be hard to find a match that could catch Xiao Chen’s interest. Lin Fei’s match earlier was one such match.

Now, there was Nangong Ziyue and Mo Ziyan’s match.

There was not much to say about Nangong Ziyue. She was from the eight Noble Clans and ranked eighth in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition. She was one of the favorites to get into the top five this time.

Nangong Ziyue should not have appeared here. Unfortunately, her seeded spot was snatched away by Yue Chenxi.

Mo Ziyan was the personal disciple of the Sun Moon Sect’s Sect Master. In the previous Five Nation Youth Competition, he was ranked eleventh. Although he was not in the top ten, he was not far off.

Mo Ziyan’s combat prowess was publicly acknowledged as comparable to those of the top ten. Thus, this match was definitely a battle of the giants.

At this moment, most of the group matches had already ended. However, the audience in the spectator stands did not leave yet. They were just waiting for these two’s match.

Mo Ziyan had a sword hanging at his waist. He had a long and narrow face, one that would normally give an impression of a despicable person.

However, Mo Ziyan gave off a righteous aura. He seemed very broad-minded and open, so others did not feel anything negative about him.

“How do you feel about being pushed out of a seeded spot, Nangong Ziyue?” Mo Ziyan asked softly while smiling.

Nangong Ziyue replied calmly, “Just take care of yourself. Be careful not to lose to me again.”

Mo Ziyan retorted, “Receive my moves, then. If I cannot defeat you in ten moves, I will concede defeat.”

His words displayed a strong self-confidence.

“Ka ca!”

Mo Ziyan drew his sword. It was slightly longer than a meter and about five centimeters wide. It flickered with a cold sharp light, pulsating rhythmically. Sword Qi appeared on its own; this was a Superior Grade Heaven Ranked Spirit Weapon.

“Pu! Pu!”

He leaped into the air. In that instant, darkness overtook the lingering sunlight and a bright moon hung in the sky.

As the sword danced around, a sad and beautiful moonlight shone on Nangong Ziyue, making her look graceful and elegant.

This sword seemed to have come from beyond the skies, giving one a misperception of space. Mo Ziyan’s body seemed to be very close to Nangong Ziyue yet like he was several kilometers away.

So close yet worlds apart, the endless moonlight leading in the front.

Using the moonlight to simulate a feeling of being such proximity yet such distance. Was he close, or was he worlds away? An instant could decide victory.

In the seeded participants’ spectator stand, even the carefree Sima Lingxuan was captivated by this state.

He praised it, saying, “Not bad, Mo Ziyan already captured the essence of the Sun Moon Sect’s state of bright moon. If he can bring his state of scorching sun to the same level, he will be able to keep up with Nangong Ziyue.

“If he can switch between them, using them freely as he pleases, he would have a seventy percent chance of entering the top ten.”

Even Sima Lingxuan gave such a high evaluation. This clearly showed how impressive this move of Mo Ziyan’s was.

“This is the might of an contender for the top ten. Indeed, his strength is on a completely different level from the other participants’.”

“These people will only reveal some of their strength against someone of the same level. Although they are all geniuses, the gap between them is like an uncrossable chasm.”

“I wonder, how will Nangong Ziyue deal with this? This match should be the best match of the first round of elimination.”

Mo Ziyan’s casual move resulted in the instant astonishment of the large audience. As the saying goes: “When an expert makes a move, everyone will know it.”

A peak genius was indeed not someone an ordinary person could deal with. This gap was very definitive.

Chapter Notes:

Been getting a couple of comments about this. For those who are not aware, the blurred chapter titles can be revealed by hovering your mouse over it, clicking it, or tapping on it (for those on mobile).

If you like the novel and would like to have advanced chapters, I just started a Patreon. There are not many advance chapters yet, just 5 at the moment but the pile will be growing. This will not affect the regular releases. https://www.patreon.com/DragonInWhite